and a lot of it has to do with our long history and pluralization of american religions. >> so tell us a bit about that history. why is it okay to joke about jesus but not other religious figures? >> the sacred is much more in contest here in part because of our legacy of religious freedom, but in part because we've had a long history of conflict over sacred imagery and words, often violent conflict. and in more recent years because of the rise of secularism, because of the rise of the culture of mockery in part, as well. it's just become more acceptable. >> is it because more and more of us are agnostic? i mean, why is it? is it -- do we still believe in jesus yet we joke about him? is it the other way around? >> well, it's funny if you read the comments on our cnn belief blog, you'll see that people are engaging in arguments with each other saying our argument has but humor is the way we deal with these kinds of conflicts. and as we say in the piece, in part, it's our way we don't kill each other. >> well, interestingly, i was talking to one of the employees here at cnn, kathy, and s